Nutrition, Hygiene and Health Promotion
Overview
Nutrition, Hygiene and Health Promotion tests the balanced diet, energy values, deficiency diseases, and practical hygiene and health-education messages suitable for families and school children.
Nutrients and energy
- Carbohydrate 4 kcal/g, protein 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g.
- Protein is needed for growth and repair; first-class proteins come from milk, egg, fish and meat; pulses and cereals give complementary proteins.
- Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K are stored in the liver and body fat; water-soluble B-complex and C are not stored and must be eaten daily.
- Iron and folic acid prevent anaemia; iodine prevents goitre; calcium and vitamin D build bone.
Deficiency diseases
- Vitamin A - night blindness and xerophthalmia.
- Vitamin D - rickets in children, osteomalacia in adults.
- Vitamin B1 - beriberi; B3 - pellagra; vitamin C - scurvy.
- Protein-energy malnutrition: marasmus (severe wasting) and kwashiorkor (oedema, fatty liver, low protein).
Hygiene and health promotion
Handwashing with soap at five key times; safe drinking water; food covered and freshly cooked; use of toilets; waste disposal; immunisation.
Worked example
A two-year-old has bow legs, delayed walking and widened wrists. Reasoning: these are signs of rickets from vitamin D deficiency. The answer should include vitamin D and calcium-rich food, safe sunlight exposure, and referral - not just more carbohydrate.
Traps that cost marks
- Using 9 kcal/g for protein.
- Confusing marasmus with kwashiorkor - oedema points to kwashiorkor.
- Saying vitamin C is stored in the body.